Fenerbahçe v Feyenoord background

A heavy Dutch presence in the Fenerbahçe ranks will ensure plenty of intrigue as Dick Advocaat's team welcome Feyenoord in UEFA Europa League Group A.

Previous meetings
• In the clubs' only previous encounters, Bert van Marwijk's Feyenoord – then UEFA Cup holders – made light work of Werner Lorant's Fenerbahçe in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Shinji Ono scored the lone goal of the first leg, and was on target again in Istanbul along with Thomas Buffel as his side completed a 3-0 aggregate success.

• The line-ups for that latter meeting on 27 August 2002 were:
Fenerbahçe: Rüştü Reçber, Ogün Temizkanoğlu, Mustafa Doğan, Mirković (Oktay Derelioğlu 52), Akın Serhat, Revivo, Abdullah Ercan, Washington (Rapaić 62), Fatih Akyel, Ariel Ortega, Stević.
Feyenoord: Zoetebier, Gyanm, Rzaşa, Bosvelt, Kalou, Van Wonderen, Van Hooijdonk, Lurling (Buffel 77), Ono, Paauwe, Emerton.

• Robin van Persie – then of Feyenoord, now at Fenerbahçe – was an unused substitute in this game, making the bench for the first time in a UEFA Champions League fixture.

• Fenerbahçe's record in 18 matches against Dutch teams is W5 D4 L9 (W4 D1 L4 at home), but they are unbeaten in the most recent three – UEFA Europa League group stage assignments against Ajax and Twente, in which they did not concede.

• Feyenoord's only other meetings with Turkish sides produced two defeats by Beşiktaş in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

Form guide
• Fenerbahçe are unbeaten in six European home games (W5 D1) since a 3-1 loss at home to Molde in the opening fixture of last season's UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Semi-finalists in 2012/13, Fenerbahçe have successfully negotiated all four of their preceding UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.

• Feyenoord last featured in this competition in 2014/15, making the round of 32, where a 2-1 home reverse to Roma ended their challenge.

• Feyenoord have won the UEFA Cup twice, in 1973/74 and 2001/02.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Rotterdam to Istanbul is around 2,200km.

• Midfielder Dirk Kuyt, now 36, spent three years with Fenerbahçe before rejoining Feyenoord 12 months ago.

• Another Dutch Fenerbahçe player, Jeremain Lens, can make his 50th UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League appearance in this match.

• Former team-mates:
Gregory van der Wiel (Fenerbahçe) & Kenneth Vermeer (Feyenoord) – Ajax, 2007–12
Gregory van der Wiel (Fenerbahçe) & Jan-Arie van Heijden (Feyenoord) – Ajax 2007–11
Jeremain Lens (Fenerbahçe) & Marko Veijnović (Feyenoord) – AZ, 2007–09

• Feyenoord's Bilal Başaçıkoğlu plays for Turkey at Under-21 level, the Dutch-born 21-year-old having elected to represent his father's home country at international level.

The coaches
• Dick Advocaat is in his first term with Fenerbahçe. The one-time Oranje coach has amassed domestic league titles in the Netherlands (with PSV), Scotland (Rangers) and Russia (Zenit), having also led Zenit to glory in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup.

• The Feyenoord game is taking place two days after Advocaat's 69th birthday.

• Advocaat played for Feyenoord's neighbours Sparta Rotterdam from 1980–82.

• Giovanni van Bronckhorst steered Feyenoord to Dutch Cup glory last season, his first in charge of his old club. As a player, the former Netherlands captain landed league championships with Rangers, Arsenal and Barcelona, scooping the 2005/06 UEFA Champions League with the Catalans.

• Advocaat was Van Bronckhorst's coach at Rangers from 1998–2001, during which time the club won two Scottish doubles, and was also his boss with the Netherlands from 2002–04.